The Witherle Collection focuses on Maine’s geography, geology, native flora and fauna, and waters.
The collection’s namesake, George Witherle, was an avid outdoorsman, Appalachian Mountain Club member, and community benefactor. Beyond the Castine peninsula, he made several days-long climbs up Katahdin which he chronicled in journals, now archived at the Wilson Museum. His family bequeathed both the library building as well as Witherle Park, now Witherle Woods Preserve, to the community. His appreciation for Maine’s natural beauty inspired this collection.
Included in the collection are historically significant works as well as recently published books that foster an understanding of Maine’s natural resources and plant and animal species over time.
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A Coastal Companion: A Year in the Gulf of Maine
A Year in the Maine Woods
Art, Ecology, and the Resilience of a Maine Island: The Monhegan Wildlands
Beaver Land
Bird Islands Down East
The Birds of Maine
Birdwatching in Maine: The Complete Site Guide
Catalog of the Butterflies and Moths of Mount Desert, Maine
Catalog of the Sawflies, Wasps, Bees, and Ants of Mount Desert Island, Maine
Cod Coasts: Cultural Landscapes of the Cod Fishery from Cape Cod to Labrador
Discovering Amphibians: Frogs and Salamanders of the Northeast
Early Maine Wildlife
Edible and Medicinal Mushrooms of New England and Eastern Canada
Flora of Mount Desert Island, Maine: A Preliminary Catalogue
Foraging Mushrooms Maine
Forest Trees of Maine
Freshwater Game Fish of North America
Geology of the Castine – Blue Hill – Area, Maine
Glaciers & Granite: A Guide to Maine’s Landscape & Geology
The Grasses and Rushes of Maine
Guide to the Geology of Mount Desert Island and Acadia National Park
Henry David Thoreau, Bert Call, and the Maine Woods
In the Company of Trees
Island Naturalist
Life Between the Tides: Marine Plants and Animals of the Northeast
Little Big Year
Living with the coast of Maine
Maine Amphibians and Reptiles
Maine Beautiful
Maine’s Fossil Record: The Paleozoic
More Than Meets the Eye: Exploring Nature and Loss on the Coast of Maine
Mosses of the Northern Forest
Mushrooms of North America
Wildflowers of North America
Native Ground Covers for Northeast Landscapes
Native Shrubs for Northeast Landscapes
Native Trees for Northeast Landscapes
Natural Landscapes of Maine
Notes on the Landscape
Our Maine: Exploring Its Rich Natural Heritage
Planting for Climate Resilience
Roadside Geology of Maine
Seaweed Chronicles: A World at the Water’s Edge
The Sedges of Maine
Seen Anything Good?
Summer to Fall: Notes and Numina from the Maine Woods
The Bog Walker’s Companion: A Guide to the Orono Bog Boardwalk
The Changing Nature of the Maine Woods
The Interrupted Forest: A History of Maine’s Wildlands
The Length and Breadth of Maine
The Maine Woods
The Nature of Oaks
The Orchids of Maine
The Pine Tree Coast
The Plants of Acadia National Park
The Plants of Baxter State Park
The World of Northern Evergreens
These Trees Tell a Story
What an Owl Knows
When the Land Turned Green: The Maine Discovery of the First Land Plants
